[ChocolateGypsy]

At the risk of sounding like I'm scolding...

Try to remember when criticizing prices at restaurants that a lot more goes into a restaurant meal than just the cost of ingredients. And those things keep increasing along with regulations.

What's really important is the customer's perception of quality and value.

I admit that Meredith Resident's lobster roll sounds a bit expensive not to come with fries when compared to what's generally considered the norm around here. But if the lobster had been taken from the tank, cooked, prepared and served on a small French baguette, on a paper lace-covered plate... while the customer was provided full service while seated on a shaded patio, on the waterfront... then I can see how $17.99 would not include fries. (I wouldn't be happy about it, but I've seen it.)

For what it's worth, the only people really cashing-in on the lobster glut are the commercial processing houses who are the primary customers of the industry. (It's that $24.00 can of frozen lobster meat at the grocery store that should be ridiculed and condemned.)

Furthermore, please take into consideration that the price of a live lobster is relative to its likelihood of dying in the tank. (Besides the factors of time, initial condition, and injury there's... well, they don't feed those things unless you count cannibalism as "feeding.")